Questions & Answers about הדוברת מדברת עם המשטרה.
What does הדוברת mean exactly, and why is it feminine?
הדוברת means the female speaker or the spokeswoman, depending on context.
It is feminine because the base word דוברת is the feminine form. Hebrew often marks gender directly on nouns and participles.
- masculine: דובר = a male speaker / spokesman
- feminine: דוברת = a female speaker / spokeswoman
The ה־ at the beginning means the, so:
- דוברת = a female speaker / spokeswoman
- הדוברת = the female speaker / the spokeswoman
Why does the verb מדברת also look feminine?
Because in Hebrew, the verb in the present tense agrees with the subject in gender and number.
The subject here is הדוברת, which is feminine singular, so the verb is also feminine singular:
- הדוברת מדברת = the spokeswoman is speaking / talking
Compare:
- הדובר מדבר = the spokesman is speaking
- הדוברת מדברת = the spokeswoman is speaking
- הדוברים מדברים = the speakers are speaking
- הדוברות מדברות = the female speakers are speaking
So the matching feminine forms are completely normal.
Are דוברת and מדברת related, or is that just a coincidence?